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Difficulty: MediumStraw Man and Ad Hominem Flaws

Consider the following argument from a corporate governance debate:

Investor: 'The CEO's proposal to transition 20% of our delivery fleet to electric vehicles should be rejected. The CEO holds personal stock in an electric charging infrastructure firm, so this proposal is merely an attempt to advance her private financial interests rather than improve our operational efficiency.'

True or False: The investor's argument is vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it commits an ad hominem flaw by dismissing a policy proposal based on the proponent's alleged personal motives rather than evaluating the proposal's intrinsic merits.

Answer: Answer

Answer

True
The argument is flawed because it rejects a business proposal based entirely on an attack on the speaker's perceived self-interest rather than assessing the proposal's actual strategic or financial value. This directly matches the definition of an ad hominem flaw, making the evaluated statement True.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the conclusion and premise of the investor's argument.
Conclusion: The proposal to transition the fleet to electric vehicles should be rejected. Premise: The CEO owns stock in a charging infrastructure company and is trying to advance private financial interests.
Understanding the structural components of the argument isolates the basis of the investor's reasoning.
2
Analyze the logical link between the premise and conclusion for reasoning flaws.
The investor rejects the policy strictly by targeting the proponent's alleged motives, offering no operational or financial evidence against the fleet transition itself.
Dismissing a position based on the source's traits or motives is the defining characteristic of an ad hominem fallacy.
3
Evaluate the accuracy of the statement in the question stem.
The statement accurately classifies the reasoning vulnerability as an ad hominem flaw.
Since the argument attacks personal motives rather than evaluating policy merits, the statement is True.

Key Concept

Ad Hominem Flaw
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Topics

Straw Man and Ad Hominem Flaws

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